First Quarter: Off to a flyer

Hey Bloggers,

On the 14^th of August, I began my internship at the SportXchange project.

SportXchange was set up by the local government and the West Australian Sporting Federation. Some of the aims include; helping out all the other sporting bodies in WA with gaining publicity, sponsorship, and providing them with volunteers etc. Our organisation aims to help other sporting bodies as Netball Wa, Football West, Basketballs WA, WACA etc.

So far, I have mainly been tasked at looking at their content analysis.

This includes when I get into the office on a Wednesday or Thursday morning, I open all the emails we have received, and put up relevant stories on the website or on social media.  Most of the posts I put up on twitter for example, are posts aiming to help out other sporting bodies, including using social media in a business, and general tips, at getting more publicity.

Some of the tweets I posted

I am mainly looking forward to also contributing to the WASF Sports Star of the Year. Every year, one West Australian sportsman/sportswomen is chosen as the best in the state.  I am looking forward to using my journalism and public relations skills, to work on this event.

The main lessons I have learned so far is speed and accuracy. As out website gets over 40 views a day, and we have over 170 twitter followers, it is important all the posts we send out are accurate and relevant.

I have also started doing some blog posts. Today I did a blog on Twitter. As some of the sporting bodies have never used twitter and  are not familiar with it, i wrote a blog on how it works e.g what a hashtag is etc. This may sound kind of basic to us, but to those who struggle with technology and don't understand how it can be helpful, its all new to them. They are yet to be posted, but we have already been told they will be helpful by Motorcycling WA.

I am looking forward to networking with others in the future, and the launch of the Sports Star of the Year award.

Cheers,

Francis Curro

Am I the curse?

Traditionally, Paterson's Stadium has been a fortress for both Fremantle and West Coast, however the Eagles have lost all three matches they have played there this season. Am I the curse? Surely not, but we will have to wait until May 5 to see if they can beat the Western Bulldogs!

Yesterday (Saturday night), the West Coast Eagles took on Carlton, and lost once again.  It was my second match day at the Eagles and I was super excited to see what such a big game would hold.  Once again, I arrived an hour and a half prior to the match and we had to organise Nic Naitanui to be interviewed by channel seven.  When the time came for us to enter the hallows of Paterson's Stadium and find the big man, we couldn't locate him anywhere! We ran around looking for him for 15 minutes, luckily we had decided to look for him early. We eventually went to the place where he needed to be to find him standing there; he had decided to make his own way to the media, much to the relief of staff.  Once the team had run out onto the ground, we sat down to watch the game, however we noticed John Worsfold being interviewed by channel seven, something we didn't know about, however we later found out that the communications manager had taken John to the media.

After numerous tweets during the game, and directing players who were not actually playing to where they needed to be, the game finally ended and the rush started once again.  We made our way to the bottom of the race and watched as the players came off the ground disgusted with yet another home loss.  We organised Josh Hill, Scott Selwood, Shannon Hurn and Matt Priddis to be interviewed by different media including channel seven, 6PR, The West Australian and afl.com.au.  A really satisfying moment for me was when one of the players remembered me after we had been introduced a couple of weeks ago.  Once the players had completed their media commitments, we waited for Mick Malthouse's press conference to finish.  In this time, I was shown what happens post-game.  I watched as players were given Powerades, protein shakes, food, lollies and given a run down on the game.  I was able to see how they track how far a player has run and was introduced to some important people in the football operations side.

After all this, we were once again ushered to the press conference by security which was cool, considering it was only the two communications/public relations bosses, myself and John Worsfold.  I listened in on the press conference and saw another side of John Worsfold.  He shut down Braden Quartermaine when he asked silly questions and it was an insight into the world of a press conference.  It was also surreal sitting next to football journalists and experts including Justin Chadwick, Braden Quartermaine and Alex Malcolm.  After the press conference, it was home time and time to write my review of the game which is now online at www.westcoasteagles.com.au.

It was a really great experience, however hopefully the Eagles win the next match and I get to experience a win at Paterson's Stadium.  Tomorrow (Monday) we have our press conference with four players which will be great fun once again. I already know that two of them will be Ashton Hams and Scott Selwood.

Until next time,
Have fun!

Nathan

The other side of sport

Since starting my placement at the West Coast Eagles I have seen a completely different side to both the club and the players.  I have always had a passion for sport and particularly AFL and have often wondered how a club ran.  On my first day a few weeks ago I arrived and felt a bit of an outsider and being told I was going to have a desk there was daunting but exciting, and I honestly felt bad that I was taking a full time workers' space.

Arriving early in the morning I got to the headquarters and met the boss and he took me to the Doig Room to set up the press conference area for John Worsfold.  After completing this he asked me if I was up to speed on what was happening in the AFL and I told him I was and he suggested I read the paper again just to be sure.  After preparing some questions we ventured downstairs to meet John Worsfold and bring him to the Doig Room.  On the way, my boss Gary briefed John on how to answer some of the questions he might get.  He didn't tell him exactly what to say, but he told him a rough outline of how to go about answering the questions.  After I sat in on the press conference and listened to what John said, we packed up the coaches banner and tables and I was left to write my story.  I sent it to Gary and he didn't have to edit it and he said he was impressed and uploaded it to the Eagles website.

My second press conference was more enjoyable than the first. On the first day I was quite nervous, but on the second day I felt more comfortable. I spoke with the media team for about half an hour and they were telling me about their job which was great and they were genuinely nice people.  After we finished chatting, the four players came upstairs for their press conferences where they were also briefed on how to answer questions.  The players were Josh Hill, Luke Shuey, Matt Priddis and captain Darren Glass. It was great to be so close to the players and they all shook my hand.  Josh Hill was great entertainment and they all had a great relationship with the media team which made me feel even more comfortable.

There were four press conferences to get through, so it did take a long time.  Adrian Barich and Lachie Reid were present and they asked most of the questions which allowed me to take a step back and listen to what the players actually said.  After about half an hour the press conferences were completed and I waited with Gary for all the media to leave and then we packed the room up.  Some of the players had more media commitments to complete such as phone interviews with newspapers in Melbourne.

It was a great experience to be so close to the players and see what goes on behind closed doors.  I am really excited about working at the Eagles for the next semester and keen to see how things work on game day.  The first match I will be at is on the 7th of April against Hawthorn which will be a massive match.

Until next time.

Good bye and good luck!

So after 20 days I have come to the end of my placement at the Department of Sport and Recreation. No more database, no more San Churros hot chocolates and no more talking about sport twice a week. Despite realising government work wasn’t for me, I was sad to go. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and learnt a lot.

As well as filling in some important skills gaps I have also realised what I need to work on more. I need to feel more confident in my contribution and what I have to say, I also need to practice my telephone manner and not be so scared to pick it up and call someone. The most important lesson I learnt however is that even after years of experience you never stop asking questions. It was a relief for me to sit in staff meetings and have people ask the same questions I had running through my head.

On my last day I made Anzacs for the staff and went out for lunch in the beautiful sun. While I was sad to say goodbye I will always be grateful for all the staff taking the time to say hi to me every day and for my supervisor being patient with my many questions (some of which were relevant to the task I was working on).

Government work is not for me, but I know sport is where I want to be. I am hoping that in the coming weeks I will be called up to help the not-for-profit organisation mentioned in my earlier blogs because it is a perfect fit for and something I really want to be part of.

I hope everyone had a placement as enjoyable as mine!

It’s all fun and games at DSR

 

I have settled in a little bit more at my placement and am starting to interact with more of the staff members which has made my time at DSR a little less daunting! I got to see a different side of government work this week by helping out a member of the Inclusion team run an X-box and Wii day for members of Amana Living aged care facilities. Around 40 members took part in the day that saw them put their co-ordination to the test in a few rounds of golf. Scores were kept as trophies were awarded at the end of the afternoon, today’s event being the last in a series that have run over the year.

It made me realise that the Department of Sport and Recreation is so much more than just funding and supporting clubs. It was great to see mature aged people getting up and giving it a go, socialising, laughing and smiling the entire time. The position statement for mature aged sport and recreation can be found here: http://www.dsr.wa.gov.au/609

This week at DSR was made more enjoyable by seeing the community based side of government work as well the benefits it is having.

 

Lucy Morrison

Opportunities and Open Doors

I remember writing in my first blog that government work might not be for me and I wanted to try something in the not-for-profit sector. Well, it’s funny how things turn out. One of the fellow members in the programs and services department asked for my input on a survey designed for young girls to assess their physical activity levels and potential qualms they have about exercising. I was also given the proposal to look over to be able to better assess the survey and whether or not it was meeting the objectives that were set out. I fell in love with it! It was the first time since starting my placement at DSR that I was genuinely excited.

 I read through the proposal several times, I even took it home and made notes that covered the entire margin with ideas and ways I thought this project could be improved. My public relations creative juices were flowing and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet with the director of the organisation that will be implementing the program in schools next year. He too could sense my enthusiasm, it may have had something to do with the fact that I could barely sit still and my hand gestures were particularly over the top! He asked me to be the face of the program in the interim with the potential to be the full time co-ordinator in a few months. I couldn’t believe that I had found a program that embodied everything I was passionate about, exercise, health, nutrition and body image! Not only that it also made me realise that this is what I want to do in my career, I want to have a close relationship with communities and be involved in the creation of websites, the implementation of proposals and communicate messages in person not just via a media release or a press conference.

 

Lucy Morrison

A little look into my Professional Placement....

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my first blog!

New to the blogging scene, a little bit nervous yet excited, so hopefully I provide a good read!

My PR 393 Professional Placement isn't your expected scene for a mid twenty something university student, yet my completed days so far have definitely been interesting. I am completing my professional placement days at the Head Office of Bowls WA.

Bowls WA is an organisation responsible for advancing, promoting and controlling the game of lawn bowls in WA. The organisation is in affiliation with Bowls Australia, who are the national sporting organisation responsible for developing and managing the sport of lawn bowls. While many people still believe the sport is only played by retirees, national census statistics prove that the sport is actually very popular with school children and social corporate bowlers!

Bowls WA is one of the largest sporting organisations in WA, consisting of 18, 965 members from over 200 clubs. The organisation is managed by a board of eight directors and has a small team of seven full time staff members. Bowls WA takes on a variety of tasks including promoting the sport, conducting State championships, conducting pennant competitions, managing interstate teams, training and giving assistance to clubs and members with management issues.

Whilst PR practices vary from business to business, I hope to gain as much experience as possible during my stay. I will be working closely with the Public Relations and Marketing team and I look forward to sharing all my days with you.

I hope you enjoy my blogs!

Kind regards,


Lauren Hannah

Stretching in at Gymnastics WA

Hello PR people,


Introductions

First of all my name is Kim, I’ll start off by admitted I'm pretty wrapped that I'm finally starting up my blog, it means I survived the first week or two of my Internship! And yes I actually was that scared of the idea of starting this last phase of university learning. I say that because after all this time learning about PR, what it is and how to use it, I was scared that the way I applied my knowledge wouldn’t be of much value to a real organisation.


I’m finding myself pretty fortunate in landing a spot at Gymnastics WA, the main reason for this being it’s an organisation based around sport, something I’m pretty passionate about.


The Office

The state Gymnastics Centre is located in Loftus Sports and Recreation Centre, not too far from home which is wicked. In the office there are about 10-15 people working to keep the Government funded organisation running. Each person has control of an area working in conjunction with a few others in their section, these being; Operations Section, Services and Development and Gymsports Section.


My Role

As Gymnastics WA doesn’t have a PR department as such I am working under the Gymsports Section which manage the events and state teams. My role fits in here as I’m helping with the PR for a new event, an awesome opportunity but daunting too! The people I’m leaning on the most are the Gymsports Manager and the Executive Director. As this is a first time event designed to target outside the gymnastics community, both my mentors are in uncharted waters, so as a PR student I bring valuable knowledge to the situation.


So Far

So far my role has been to write the sponsorship package for this new event, a task I thought would be far beyond my capability, however I’m pretty proud of the document that’s coming together.


Issues

The things I’m finding hard so far pretty much concern the change in work environments, sitting at a desk for 7-8 hours a day is not ideal. The other challenge I’m finding is getting contact time with my mentors to discuss my concerns, theres 10 other people so competing for their time is a task. However I’m being forced to talk to other staff members and borrow their knowledge as well as trust my gut, which I suppose is part of the whole process of becoming a PR Professional.

State Government Intern Program - Part II

Another big hello to my fellow PR buddies,

I hope that all of your workplace experiences are going as well as mine :)

I am almost half way through my time here at the Department of Sport and Recreation and it has absolutely flown by!

To give you all an indication of what I am doing here, I can sum it up in one word.. Research !

The Department of Sport and Recreation are currently up to stage five of a five stage program designed to get more people active in their communities, whether it be through sporting team participation, volunteering, umpiring etc.

At present, I have been scouring the internet, looking for previously implemented strategies (worldwide, national and local) to grab the attention of younger people to get more active in their communities and I have found some very interesting research. Ideas from offering students discounts on their university studies if they join a local group to establishing a passport system that allows people to showcase a portfolio to future employers of where they have volunteered are just two of many ideas I have found so far.

The state government has just allocated my particular section, called "Sport for all" a five year payment plan totalling $6million, or $1.2million per year which is going to come in very handy to pursue our strategies and projects.

There are also alarming trends between children and obesity as well as older generations and lack of social interaction, and we are trying to address these and many other issues too. It is quite exciting to be here, especially now with the government grant!

Everyone is very active here and only a few people commute to work by car which really shows that the staff live by the ethos of the department they work for and keep active.

Just to rub it in a little bit, I thought I should share some (not all) of the benefits I have while working here.

1. Free yoga classes, massages, walking groups at lunch
2. As much sporting equipment as you could ever need. (At lunch I will quite often grab a football, walk onto Leederville Oval (it adjoins our building) and kick a few goals with the guys!)
3. Free ergonomic assessment; you get fitted out for proper seating, foot rests, arm rests, fitness balls if you need them (very comfortable now!).

Everyone is very happy to work here and it definately shows.

Well, back to work for me but look forward to reading some more developments in all of your placements!

Kieran Vanpraag

Kieran Vanpraag - State Government Internship Program success !!

A big hello to the predominantly female presence in this blog and an ultra big pat on the back for all the lads that have stuck with their PR major, there seems to be quite a shortage of men in this industry for some reason!

So, this is my first blog (ever) and I hope it's a good learning experience for myself and throws a bit of helpful information your way as well.

As the subject reads, I was one of the 10 lucky students to be offered a State Government internship and I begin my adventure next Thursday. Although I have not been briefed exactly on my daily tasks and duties as such, the basis of my employment is to ultimately produce a conclusive document that outlines innovative strategies to retain and attract young volunteers to the Department of Sport and Recreation.

This will be achieved through conducting field research, focus groups, researching previous documents and strategies implemented in Australia and even looking internationally to find the most effective proven methods of securing volunteers.

I am very much looking forward to my working role and would encourage anyone who has not yet found their internship placement to seriously consider contacting Government departments and offering your services. I am not sure whether applications are still being accepted for the Internship Program but contacting Government departments through your own initiative would be looked upon quite favourably I would think and might just land you a position that was never even there to begin with!

I will end my first blog with a bit of advice passed down to me from a student who is currently doing this unit also. I won't name her but she will know exactly who she is :)

Quite simply she said, "The squeaky door gets the oil"

This can be easily applied to your everyday lives. If you apply for that dream job and miss out, don't close the door and rubber stamp failure on your head. Consider asking the employer if it is okay if you contact them once a month to find out about possible positions available. If the person hired happens to leave the job, you will more than likely be considered as you will be fresh on the mind of the employer.

Well, that is all for now but I wish everyone the best for this unit and hope that we all get a lot out of it including many stories, heaps of experience and a host of networking contacts that will help us in our first full time job after uni.

Take care and get back to study !

Kieran Vanpraag